All us boomers remember Peter Pan. Walt Disney presented him to us, just as he did Davy Crockett. That\u2019s why little boys of my generation wore coonskin caps in the 1950s. I remember playing Peter Pan with my dad, using WWII souvenirs: he was Captain Hook with a Japanese katana, and I got to be Peter Pan with a German parade dagger. (I had a very cool dad.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In J. M. Barrie\u2019s original book, Peter was a sprite, a little boy who would never grow up and who could fly with the aid of magical pixie dust, and the leader of the Lost Boys on the island of Neverland. Naturally, adults couldn\u2019t leave well enough alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1983, Dr. Dan Kiley wrote the book \u201cThe Peter Pan Syndrome: Men Who Have Never Grown Up.<\/a>\u201d As I recall, he described I read it when it came out, and thought \u201cHey. Hey. HEY! <\/em>I resemble those remarks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kiley followed with the third of the books I\u2019m talking about, \u201cThe Wendy Dilemma<\/a>\u201d in 1984, which I read as a more-than-tacit warning for nurturing, loving women to stay the hell away from men like us.\u00a0 I am not a book-burner, but I could make an exception for this volume. People like me need <\/em>our Wendys, dammit.<\/p>\n\n\n\nus<\/s> \u2013uh, I mean, victims of the syndrome. See if this sounds familiar: They will be utterly useless for things like mowing the lawn or balancing checkbooks, but they will be good at the adventures they seek out. They will find a way to make a living doing things Hollywood makes adventure movies about: cop, soldier, cowboy, or things to do with aircraft, motorcycles, and\/or firearms. They will be good at what they do. They will bond with other Lost Boys who may take them as their leaders. They will be constantly seeking out evil Captain Hooks with whom to do righteous battle. And they will invariably find loving, practical, nurturing Wendys who take care of boring real-life things for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n